Latent Entrepreneur Personality Type (LEPT)

By: Sprig Allan

In a normal day to day conversation, the terms ADHD and entrepreneurship are completely unrelated.  For Deb Gilbertson, former corporate Marketing and Innovation Manager at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, ADHD can be redefined as Latent Entrepreneur

Personality Type (LEPT). Gilbertson explores the concept that ADHD developed on an evolutionary standpoint to give hunters a mental advantage over their prey. LEPT allowed for the hunters to “see everything,” constantly on the look out for the next meal or threat.  This capacity to observe all, served them well in the hunt, but in the classroom it looks like inattention and distraction.

These rapid sifts in focus and high energy may hinder a person with LEPT in the classroom but in terms of entrepreneurship, this person is well equipped to deal with the challenges facing an entrepreneur. In ADHD people and young children, the frontal lobes are immature or sluggish, so they appear to act without thinking.  In adults it is characterized by restless energy, rapid onset of boredom and deficient short -term memory. It is also characterized by passion, utter commitment to areas if interest, creativity, resilience to setbacks, willingness to engage in moderate risk taking, slightly maverick behavior, eclectic experiences and high energy.

These qualities of being creative, insightful, breaking rules, making rules, reframing issues, and gaining meaning are characteristic of entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and creative people. They are also a signature of ADHD.  Considering the fact that people with ADHD are four times more likely to be an entrepreneur than an average person, there is an obligation to notice the positive characteristics that LEPT individuals have and to encourage them to try entrepreneurship.

A quick comparison between the bootstrapping and deep pocket — fast burn strategies on how to start a business

By: Sprigley Allan, SDSU ‘11
Every year, over eight million entrepreneurs start businesses in the United States alone. Each one of these businesses needs an energetic entrepreneur, a strong work ethic, and a great idea but what they may not need is money. In the world of entrepreneurship, there are two potential approaches on the best way to finance a start—up. These are the bootstrap and the deep pocket — fast burn strategies.

Bootstrapping is for the entrepreneur that wants to spend as little money as possible to launch his/her venture quickly to see if the market exists for their product. This is a direct opposite of the deep pocket — fast burn strategy. This strategy is essential for companies that require large sums of money to be initially invested product marketing, advertising and product research and development before the product even reaches the market.

In today’s economic environment, it is becoming more difficult and time consuming to find large amounts of capital for new entrepreneurs and unproven products or services. However, this is no reason not to start your company now. With major companies maintaining a low profile to survive the current “storm” and additional talent now available, the time is perfect for new and adaptable companies to step in and thrive.

Bootstrapping allows for an entrepreneur to start a business without having to put themselves in a tremendous amount of debt and keeps them from giving up too much equity. Along with bootstrapping their business, the best thing a new entrepreneur can do is to make use of all the resources available.

Among the most powerful tools available on the internet are:

• United States Small Business Administration
  This government funded and government run program can assist in all stages of starting a small business. Some of the 100’s of tools that their website provides are tools for writing a business plan, finding funding both in grants and connecting companies with investors both on a local and national scale.
• Weebly
  This is a FREE, easy way to start marketing your product on the internet and generating some interest.
• PayPal
  PayPal was itself started in 1998 by an entrepreneur in the attempt to provide a quick, inexpensive and user friendly mechanism for e-commerce.It is still one of the easiest ways to accept credit card payments securely online.
• The Best Things in Life Are Free
  A comprehensive list of FREE online business resources that come in handy whether you are a bootstrapped company low on funds or simply a cost conscious CEO looking for affordable alternatives to brand named products.

This strategy is essential for companies that require large sums of money to be initially invested in marketing, advertising and product research and development before the product even reaches the market.

Maintaining ethics, morals and integrity in the modern business world

By: Sprigley Allan

Morality and ethics in business can be an interesting discussion.  You should not overlook the clear connections between entrepreneurial character traits and their related moral virtues.  A student interested in entrepreneurship is taught both, the practical traits of business success as well as the ethics and moral virtues they should stand for.  Although most conventional wisdom  suggests teaching these two topics as separate ideas, not all agree.  According to The Journal of Private Enterprise these topics should not only be taught together but that they are mutually supporting.

The following table itemizes both the necessary traits of a successful entrepreneur and the corresponding moral virtues.

Together the left and right side of the above chart constitutes an entrepreneurial code for business ethics.  According to The Journal of Private Enterprise, the list of virtues listed above is both very Aristotelian (Aristotle, 1984; see Aristotle’s discussions of courage in Book III, pride as the “crown” of the virtues, truthfulness, and liberality with respect to money in Book IV, justice in Book V, and phronesis or practical wisdom in Book VI of Nicomachean Ethics) and very Objectivist (Rand, 1964).

This conjunction of entrepreneurial traits and moral virtues shows the fallacy in believing that success according to business criteria and success according to ethical criteria can not be one in the same.  Whether entrepreneurs are developing their business plans, dealing with investors, employees, competitors or customers it is imperative that they have a strong foundation in ethical business practices.

Ethics are a classic example of something that rests on a slippery slope.  When an aspiring entrepreneur breaks any of these moral virtues or is deceitful in their business practice, the bottom line of their business ultimately reflects this.  To assure the respect of their employees, investors and customers an entrepreneur must follow an entrepreneurial code for business ethics.  What will you create?

Original copy at www.sdsu.edu/emc

American Patriotism Today

Depending on who you are, patriotism is a gift, an obligation or a burden. The dictionary defines patriotism as, devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty. The definition may seem straight forward and simple, but in reality patriotism has many more definitions and its meaning changes over time. Being born in Denver, CO in 1988 my views of patriotism were shaped by my family as well as by the ultra-conservative community I grew up in. A persons definition of patriotism is generally shaped by three main factors; the timing of the question, their family values and their community values. The timing of the question is of vital importance as the national view of patriotism can change in as little as a couple months.

American Patriotism used to be supporting the Constitutional right of all men to be free, then it was patriotic to ration during WWI and WWII. After WWII it was patriotic to be anti communist, and to turn in your “red” neighbor. Following McCarthyism, it became patriotic to fight the governments involvement oversees, or to support it depending on whose political ideology you followed. After the peaceful and lucrative 90’s people were forgetting what it meant to be patriotic. Then on september 11^th the country was united and a whole new wave of flag waving and anthem playing patriotism arose. However the consequences of 9/11 would later divide the country in a way that has not been seen since the 1960’s.

A couple months after 9/11 it became patriotic for republicans to defend Bush and his decision to go to Iraq. At the same time it became popular for democrats to constantly batter Bush for his not finding of WMD in Iraq and to constantly fight every move president Bush tried to make on everything from health care to education. Iraq became the iconic hot button for Bush’s presidency, and helped re-write the definition of patriotism for the rest of his term.

Now that the reader knows the importance of this brief history of American patriotism, I can now explain my personal view of what it means to be patriotic. To be patriotic a person needs to meet a couple of very important criteria. First, a person needs to be driven not only by what is good for them but also by an honest concern for the greater good of their countrymen. Second a person needs to know what they are being patriotic for. For example a person who has no knowledge of our countries history would have a hard time being honestly patriotic. I would define patriotism as; a love and respect for your country and a willingness to make sacrifices for it.

Following this definition of patriotism I would be considered a patriot of the first order. The United States of America is far from perfect but it does represent an idealistic society unlike any other in the world. However to enjoy the right to vote, the right to free speech and all of the other rights we take for granted some one had to pay the ultimate price. In my opinion the greatest patriot is the soldier. The US soldier is a volunteer who has given an oath to defend the constitution of our country and is sometimes asked to lay down his life to guarantee those rights. Although sometimes a soldier is driven more by the monetary incentives than by their patriotic ideals but that is not the norm. However it does not take the blind obedience of the soldier to be a true patriot.

Some of the greatest patriots of all were people who spoke out against the current administration and/or against unjust laws. Although I do not go to the extremes that Kazin does when he says, “Throughout or history, and still today, the most effective way to love the country is to fight like hell to change it,”(The Informed Argument) I think that it is entirely possible to be patriotic and not support what is going on in Washington at any given time. One phenomenal example of an American patriot is Martin Luther King Jr. Our founding fathers put down in writing that all men are created equal and yet they allowed the enslavement and later discrimination of people based on nothing but the color of their skin. Being born in the time of segregation in America, Martin Luther King had an enormous task in bringing equality to all Americans. Marting Luther King believed in the uniquely American ideals of freedom and equality and took measures to guarantee them. He led dozens of enormous and peaceful protests against Washington D.C. and yet he is still, according to my definition, a model for American patriotism.

American Patriotism should never be defined as a blind obedience to any political party or president. American patriots need to balance their allegiance to their political parties or other groups with their national pride. As McClay puts it, “On the contrary, American patriotism has generally affirmed and drawn upon the vibrancy and integrity of other, smaller-scale, and relatively independent loyalties.”(The Informed Argument) This quote is explaining that being of a different race, religion or even sexual orientation does not need to take away from a persons patriotism but rather can help make it stronger. In America an unjust rule can always be fought against and changed if the majority agree with you. This means that to be an American patriot does not mean blindly following all the rules but rather fighting for what you believe in.

As JFK so eloquently put it, “And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” Thanks in part to this mentality and Americans definition of patriotism is changed depending on the time, their family and their community. American patriotism as McClay so beautifully put it is, “To be an American… is not a matter of whose child you are but of what principles you accept. It is a nation of the twice born, politically and culturally, a nation founded not upon decent but consent.”(The Informed Argument)

Works Cited

Miller, Robert, and Robert Yagelski The Informed Argument. Massachusetts, 2004

Studying in my garage with my friend Deaton, I was struck by the inequities of our legal system. Knowing that I had to write an essay about argument I decided to ask Deaton about her views on capital punishment. Deaton was quick to respond with a resounding “NO” and I knew I had found the perfect topic to explore the different kinds of arguments defined in our text. The four arguments presented in the text were; the argument to inquire, the argument to assert, the argument to dominate, and the argument to negotiate differences.

Initially Deaton was very sure of her argument that people who had committed murders should be imprisoned as appose to being punished with lethal force. She presented her arguments in comments such as, “death is the easy way out” which is an argument to assert. Two other arguments she made are, “prison is punishment” and an argument to compassion, “the peoples lives will be sufficiently ruined by being in prison and having their identities marked with a criminal record.” I asked why the criminal record is a sufficient punishment and she answered by saying that, “because of the record they would have a hard time getting a job, which can be seen as a punishment.”

After she had her say I proceeded to utterly and completely tear apart her argument using statistical evidence and many arguments to dominate. One such counter arguments I used was, “The American prison system gives even death row inmates state of the art medical care, 3 meals a day, in some cases a TV and air conditioning. These are luxuries that thousands of Americans do not have a hope of getting, and yet our tax dollars are providing them for people who have committed heinous crimes against fellow human beings.” I am very passionate about this topic for a variety of reasons and I found myself using predominantly argument to dominate with no arguments to negotiate differences. After about twenty minutes I decided that my arguments to dominate were not appropriate to use with a close friend because it hurt too many feelings.